SC Law No. 04-CC-ConsultRFP Request for Proposals for Consultant
Advertised: May 27, 2004 Services, Software and Hardware and
Issued: Installation
Request for Proposals (RFP) for
Consultant Services, Software and Hardware and Installation for
an Upgrade or Replacement of Existing Student Administration and Other Systems
for Suffolk County Community College
Mandatory Proposer’s Conference: June 17, 2004
Technical Questions Due: July 1, 2004
Proposals Due: No Later than 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 15, 2004
Late Proposals Will Be Rejected
For additional information, contact:
Craig M. Harris
Administrative Director of Business Operations
Phone: 631-451-4435
Fax: 631-451-4444
E-mail:
All proposals must be signed in ink and accompanied by a signed transmittal letter, County Disclosure SCEX Form 22, Bid Certification SCPD-7, and Agreement on Terms of Discussion
Table of Contents
Section I
Administrative InformationPage No.
1.Purpose of RFP4
2.Background Information4
3.Coordinating Departments4
4.Evaluation Committee5
5.Administrative and Technical Questions5
6.Mandatory Proposer’s Conference6
7.Due Date for Proposals6
8.Number of Copies6
9.Proposal Format6
10.Award Criteria8
11.RFP Policies and Procedures8
Section II
Consultant Profile
1.General Information/Consultant Profile10
2.Expertise of Consultant, Including
Qualifications and Experience of Personnel10
3.Quality Control12
4.Financial Viability12
5.Cybersecurity12
6.Client History13
Section III
Technical Proposal Requirements
- Project Scope14
- Project Principles16
- Configuration of the College Implementation Team17
- The Implementation Environment17
- College History18
- Specialized Functionality19
- The Project Management Office and the Project Manager23
- Assurance of Disaster Recover28
- Detailed Technical Specifications – Functionality28*
*(Document accessible at: http://www.sunysuffolk.edu/RFP)
- Timetable29
- Operational Plan29
- Administrative Systems Integration Points30
- Description of the Current Operational Environment32
Section IV
Cost Proposal66
Section V
Model Agreements
*(Document accessible at: http://www.sunysuffolk.edu/RFP)
Section VI
Suffolk County Request for Proposals (RFP) Legal Appendices/Forms Revised as of 10/22/02
*(Document accessible at: http://www.sunysuffolk.edu/RFP)
Section I
Administrative Information
1.Purpose of RFP
- Suffolk County Community College (College) invites proposals from Independent Consultant(s) to recommend a software and hardware solution for the college.
- Each of the following can be awarded as a separate or unified engagement:
i.Recommend and/or install software and hardware at the college to upgrade or replace the existing student administration system and other systems;
ii.Provide consulting services to direct and effect the College’s and/or consultant’s installation of the recommended solution; and
iii. Serve, on the College’s behalf, as the project manager and work with the firm providing the software and installation services to assure the effective, efficient and timely completion of the process.
b.The College anticipates and reserves the right to award one or more contracts for the above services.
c.Respondents can respond to a(i) and/or a(ii) and/or a(iii) or any combination thereof.
2.Background Information
a.The College is a non-resident, public, two-year college. It has three campuses located in Riverhead, Brentwood and Selden, and extension centers located throughout Suffolk County.
b.The College annually enrolls approximately 25,000 students (head count).
c.The College has determined it needs to replace or upgrade its existing student administration system.
3.Coordinating Departments
a.Prior to Award of Contract
The College’s Office of Business and Financial Services (contact listed below) is responsible for coordinating the issuance of the RFP.
Contact:Craig M. Harris, Administrative Director of Business Affairs
Suffolk County Community College
533 College Road, Rm. 32, NFL Building
Selden, New York 11784-2899
Tel: (631) 451-4435
Fax: (631) 451-4444
E-mail:
b.After Award of Contract/Prior to Execution of Contract
The College’s Legal Affairs and Compliance Office will be responsible for coordinating with the Suffolk County Attorney’s Office and Consultant regarding the negotiation and execution of the contract.
c.After Execution of Contract
The Office of Business and Financial Services is responsible for administration of Consultant’s contract, including payments.
Office of the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs is the contact for all questions concerning implementation of the project.
4.Evaluation Committee
A College Evaluation Committee will make the final selection of Company. The Evaluation Committee may include, but not be limited to, the Executive Director of Computer Information Systems, the Associate Dean of Academic Administrative Services, the Executive Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management, the College Registrar, the College Director of Financial Aid, the Director of Administrative Computing, the Administrative Director of Human Resources and the Associate Dean of Business and Financial Services.
5.Administrative and Technical Questions
a.Administrative Questions
Administrative questions may be submitted in telephone or in writing to the contact listed in paragraph 3 above. E-mail and fax are acceptable; e-mail is preferred.
b. Technical Questions
Technical questions must be submitted on or before July 1, 2004 to the contact listed in paragraph 3 above. E-mail and fax are acceptable; e-mail is preferred.
Respondents are encouraged to submit questions before the Proposer’s Conference, to enable full discussion there.
The College Evaluation Committee will issue an Addendum to this RFP after the proposer’s conference.
c.Office of Business and Financial Services is Sole Contact during RFP Process
During the RFP process, all communications should be directed to the Office of Business and Financial Services or, as appropriate, the College’s Legal Affairs and Compliance Office.
Respondents may be disqualified from the RFP process if they communicate with any other College or County employee or any member of the College Evaluation Committee.
6.Mandatory Proposer’s Conference
a.The Proposer’s Conference will be held at 9:00 AM, Thursday, June 17, 2004 in the Montauk Room, Second Floor, Babylon Student Center, Ammerman campus, 533 College Road, Selden, New York, 11784.
b.The Proposer’s Conference will be coordinated with a walk through of various offices of the college that work with applicants, students, the general public and corporate and private firms who do business with the college, and deal with matters such as admissions, financial aid, human resources administration, registration and cashiering and payment and contract administration.
7.Due Date for Proposals
Responses must be submitted NO LATER THAN 4:00 PM, July 15, 2004 to:
Administrative Director of Business Operations
Room 232 NFL Building, SCCC
533 College Road
Selden, NY 11784
8.Number of Copies
Respondents must submit one original and eight (8) copies of their proposal, plus one copy on a diskette using an MSWord or ASCII format or as an e-mail attachment in similar format.
9.Proposal Format
Proposals must include the following:
a.Transmittal Letter on Consultant Letterhead
This letter must be signed by a corporate officer or authorized agent of the company.
b.Consultant Profile: Response to Questions set forth in Section II
This section is used to evaluate the respondent’s general qualifications. Respondents must follow the format set forth in Section II, entitled “Consultant Profile.”
c.Consultant’s Proposed Services: Responses to items set forth in Section III
This section is to used evaluate the respondent’s substantive proposal. Respondents must use the format set forth in Section III, entitled “Technical Proposal Requirements.”
d.Consultant’s Cost Proposal: Responses to items set forth in Section IV
This section is used to evaluate respondents proposed fees and charges. Respondents must use the format set forth in section IV, entitled “Cost Proposal.”
The Cost Proposal must be submitted in the same package as other required items, but it must be in a separate sealed envelope labeled “Cost Proposal.”
e.List (if applicable) of Subcontractors
Respondents must identify all subcontractors they plan to use and describe what those subcontractors will do in their proposals. Failure to provide this information may result in the proposer’s disqualification.
f.Requested Changes to Model Agreement
Respondents must identify any and all items not set forth in the Model Agreement (Section V) which they want to negotiate as part of the final contract.
g.County Disclosure SCEX Form 22
Respondents must provide three originals copies of form SCEX Form 22, signed by a corporate officer or an authorized agent of the company.
h.County Bid Certification Form SCPD-7
Respondents must provide one original copy of SCPD-7, signed by a corporate officer of the company.
i.Living Wage Forms
Respondents must comply with the provisions of the Suffolk County Living Wage Law.
10.Award Criteria
Points
a. Evaluation Criteria
i.General Qualifications30
Consultant’s history, expertise, experience,
reliability, financial viability and references.
See Section II, entitled “Consultant Profile,”
for specific requirements.
ii.Proposed Services:30
Strategies, methodologies, services, functionality of
software offered by Consultant.
See Section III entitled
“Technical Proposal Requirements” for
specific requirements.
iii.Cost Proposal 40
Separate sealed envelope.
See Section IV, entitled “Cost Proposal,”
for specific requirements.
Total:100
b. The College will only entertain proposals where the recommended solution and/or project implementation managed by the firm has been in ‘live’ production for at least three (3) years. Proposals that do not meet this minimum benchmark will be deemed non-responsive and will NOT be considered.
11.RFP Policies and Procedures
a.Respondents must register with the College’s Office of Business and Financial Services, which maintains a control list of eligible respondents.
b.The College intends to contract with the respondent(s) who provide the solutions that best meet the College’s needs.
c.The College has provided, as part of this issuance, a Model Agreement (attached, in Section V) which sets forth the terms and conditions of the agreement(s) to be entered into, including indemnification and insurance. The Model Agreement is subject to revision arising out of requests made by proposers in their submittals, discussions with the college before going to contract, the terms and conditions imposed by law or deemed appropriate by the College’s Legal Affairs and Compliance Office or the County Attorney’s office.
d.Respondent’s proposals to this RFP, as may be subsequently modified in negotiations with the College, may be included as exhibits in any contract(s) that result.
e.The College reserves the right to amend this RFP, to reject any or all of the proposals, or any part thereof, to waive formalities, if it deems such actions to be in its best interest, to request additional information from any respondent, and to negotiate contracts with one or more Consultants. Respondents must provide a statement in their proposals that indicate they are willing to provide services to the College if one or more other respondents provide similar services.
f.This RFP does not commit and should not be construed to commit the College to pay any costs respondents incur in connection with any proposal or their efforts to procure or contract for any services.
g.The decision to award a contract shall be based on Consultant’s ability to provide quality services and products and to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, including without limitation the local preference and other Suffolk County local laws set forth in Section VI, entitled “Suffolk County Request for Proposals (RFP) Legal Appendices/ Forms Revised as of 10/22/02.”
h.The award of any contract will be made as judged to be in the best interest of the College. The final selection of the Consultant(s) will be made by the College Evaluation Committee, including but not limited to, the representatives set forth in paragraph 4, entitled “Evaluation Committee” of Section I of this RFP.
i.The Legal Affairs and Compliance Office acts as counsel to the Evaluation Committee, but does not vote in the selection process.
j.Each proposal received is examined to determine whether it responds to the requirements of this RFP. All responsive proposals are evaluated in accordance with the criteria set forth herein.
k.The College is under no obligation to contact Consultants for clarifications, but it reserves the right to do so. At its sole discretion, the College Evaluation Committee may interview all or some respondents during the selection process and may request presentations, including demonstrations of products and services.
End of Text for Section I
Section II
Consultant Profile
1.General Information/Consultant History
a.Consultant Name and address.
b.Describe the nature of your organization (e.g. business corporation, not-for-profit corporation, proprietorship, etc.).
c. Year Consultant was founded and brief history.
d.Total number of employees.
e.Location(s) from which services will be performed.
- Expertise of Consultant, including Qualifications and Experience of Personnel
- Respondents must respond specifically to the following questions:
i.What in its organization’s operating environment will contribute to the project’s success?
ii.What resources does the organization have to support the project?
iii.What collaborative arrangements, if any, will the respondent bring to the project that will enhance the quality or chances for success of the project?
b.Respondents must submit an organizational chart, which indicates where in its structure the project team resides, including all reporting relationships.
c.Respondents must identify any relationships with hardware or software vendors that could be construed to conflict with the objectivity of the assignment.
- Respondents must provide resumes of the project director and other key staff who will be assigned to this project.
- Respondents must describe the qualifications and background of each staff member, insofar as they are presented as a participant in the project.
- Respondents must provide staff member-specific references for those so indicated, so the College can determine the effectiveness of their performance in the ascribed roles in other, similar assignments.
- Project staff must have experience in a variety of enterprise environments including IBM mainframe, Client / Server and web delivered services, and these experiences must be so indicated.
- The College reserves and will exercise the right to interview and reject the project manager proposed by the Consultant, and respondent will indicate their approval of this reservation of authority.
- Respondents will indicate if they will be assigning temporary staff to this project. If so, they will include details of their supervision and training.
- Respondents will provide a list of the contracts entered into in similar engagements, including therein the solution offered, initial contract amount, contract changes (including the rationale for such changes) and total contract receipts.
- Respondents will describe the role and experience of key personnel assigned to other similar projects who will be assigned to this project.
- Respondents must describe where their professional management assignments have been successful in mitigating the issues described by the College, to include but not be limited to each of the following:
- Difficulties clients have had in making decisions,
- Problems in executing change management strategies,
- Strategies to overcome personnel reluctant to modify workflow,
- Approaches used to accommodate users who saw the project as taking away functionality existing under the legacy system as a ‘vanilla’ package is installed.
- Respondents must indicate in their proposal that their firm has a large enough staffing footprint to provide easy access to consultation services for implementation and maintenance in technical programming and functional management of the system (i.e., consultants are available and need not be flown in from outside the New York metropolitan area), and if not, respondents must indicate how they would propose to manage the functions noted.
- Respondents must identify all employees of the college with whom they had contact in the twelve months prior to the submittal of their response RFP, to include the date and location of such meeting(s) and topics discussed.
- Respondents must identify all contractual arrangements and partnerships they have, as commonly understood in the industry,
- Respondents must indicate any and all partnerships and contractual arrangements they have with firms that provide software and/or hardware that supports their recommended solution.
3.Quality Control
a.Operational Plan: Describe how Consultant will ensure performance through adequate management, supervision, review and control.
b.Record and Reporting Systems: Describe Consultant’s system for self-monitoring and to ensure maintenance of complete and accurate records.
c.Operating Problems: Discuss any operating problems, other than litigation, which you have experienced within the past five years, and their resolution.
4. Financial Viability
a.Financial Statements
For nongovernmental agencies, submit current financial statements prepared and certified by an independent CPA or internal statements if certified statements are not available or have not been issued within the past twelve (12) months.
b.Indebtedness to County, Liens and Litigation
Respondents must submit the following:
i. A statement as to indebtedness, if any, to the County; and
ii.A listing of all outstanding liens, if any, against the Proposer; and
iii.A summary of litigation, if any, against the Proposer and its disposition.
5.Cyber-Security
a.Respondents must:
- Demonstrate that their staff is trained in appropriate security procedures and hold appropriate security credentials;
ii.Identify their Information Security Officer;
- Certify all code in their baseline produce, including any third party code, has been audited for security weaknesses;
- Describe procedures used (internal department or outside hire) to test the solution to assure it is safe from unauthorized use; and
- Indicate if the proposed solution has been evaluated on ISO-15408 (Common Criteria).
Client History
a.Respondents must provide a detailed list of representative higher education clients, defined as the following:
i.A project involving a similar implementation or project management services provided in the last three years at a large community college or college system, with a headcount of 20,000-30,000 or more, which need not be a multi-campus college; and
ii.All installations in community colleges in New York, including State University (SUNY) and City University (CUNY).
b.For each of the institutions in (a), provide no fewer than three references. The references must include the Project Manager and the Financial Administrator who were responsible for the functional and financial administration of the project. In addition:
c. For all references, provide the following: